Oscar Pistorius arrives at court

By Drum Digital

08 December 2015

Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius had to brave a large media contingent outside the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday morning, with photographers jostling for space to snap a picture of the once-beloved athlete who is now facing more time behind bars.

Pistorius, who arrived at court in a silver Toyota SUV, showed no emotion as he swiftly entered the court building, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie.

Local and international media had set up outside court from early morning and several streets around the court had been closed off ahead of the appearance.

It is expected to be brief, in order to set a date for formal sentencing proceedings.

The shamed Paralympian will be re-sentenced after his culpable homicide conviction was overturned for a stronger conviction of murder.

Last week, the NPA confirmed that prosecutors had been engaged in deliberations since the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein that overturned Judge Thokozile Masipa’s finding.

The NPA has said it wanted the process to be concluded as soon as possible.

The SCA ruled on Thursday in favour of the State, setting aside Masipa's 2014 culpable homicide conviction and referring the matter back to the trial court for sentencing.

The judgment came almost three years after Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp, later stating he mistook her for an intruder. He fired four shots into the door of a toilet cubicle of his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

He served one sixth of his five-year sentence in prison and was released in October to serve the remainder under correctional supervision.